“Whether your worldly possessions be many or few, you are still rich in gifts from God. Love Him, not for the outward things He may give you but for His gift to you of Himself as your Father.”

— Paramahansa Yogananda

This joyous season of Thanksgiving, when we celebrate God’s bounty, is also a blessed opportunity to step back from the daily cares and complexities of life and to anchor ourselves anew in the stable reality of His loving presence. Let it be a time to quiet the mind, to open your eyes to behold Him in the beauty of His creation, in each noble aspiration, in the love of family and friends, and in the silent depths of your soul. The more closely you look at your life through the lens of appreciation, the more you will feel His nearness and caring for your well-being. Maya-born dreams of limitations and vulnerability will gradually dissolve as you realize that you are connected to a boundless Source of abundance, strength, and divine love.

Our hearts naturally turn to our supreme Well-wisher in gratitude when a prayer is answered or some beneficial change takes place in our lives. Yet Gurudeva Paramahansa Yogananda taught us that our ability to appreciate God’s world and feel His supporting presence need not be dependent on outer circumstances. During the early years in Guruji’s ashrams, we disciples had few material comforts. But we experienced the joyous freedom of simple living and of a contented heart. Through his example, we learned not to condition our happiness by externals but to seek its source in an ever-deeper relationship with our Divine Benefactor. How much sweeter and more personal that relationship becomes with the daily practice of thankfulness, for the habit of focusing on and acknowledging the good in our lives reveals behind those blessings the loving hand of the Heavenly Father. As we realize His all-pervading generosity, our expressions of appreciation become a continuous flow of devotion that uplifts our consciousness, drawing us closer to Him. By living in that transforming vibration of His presence, we attune ourselves more fully to His laws of abundance. Our faith in Him grows, opening wider the channel for His ever-present help; and our understanding broadens — allowing us to glean, even from life’s challenging or frustrating moments, enduring inner victories. That eternal connection with Him is our secure haven, where we can find the strength, wisdom, and confidence to meet all of life’s circumstances. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord gives this divine assurance: “To those who meditate on Me as their Very Own, ever united to Me by incessant worship, I supply their deficiencies and make permanent their gains.”

God holds nothing back. When by inner communion and attunement with Him we make ourselves receptive, He gives the supreme gift of Himself. As you enter the temple of silence, not in restless expectation, but with thankfulness for the blessing of being in His presence, the warm glow of your grateful heart will draw to you His response as peace, as joy, and as ever-expanding love. May that inner abundance suffuse your being and overflow in kindness to others, that they too might feel His goodness and lift their thoughts to Him.